


Arthur Pendragon is Dead

by MistBorn_SprenDeath



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur isn't Actually Dead, BAMF Merlin (Merlin), But Merlin thinks he is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 23:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19260976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistBorn_SprenDeath/pseuds/MistBorn_SprenDeath
Summary: "Arthur Pendragon is dead."Morgana watched in awful delight as Merlin choked on his words, wincing with her sudden volume."Your pathetic King Arthur is gone, Merlin. And you weren't here to stop me."





	1. Morgana

Morgana smirked as she sat on Camelot’s throne, imagining the pain Merlin would soon be in. All around her stood her warriors, bound to her through the most powerful magic Morgana was capable of. The ground around her was littered with blood, new and old, and the rent capes of Camelot’s knights. She let her fingers slide down the fine workmanship of Excalibur, grinning at the blood stained on the very edges. 

Camelot had been conquered.

The doors to the throne room slammed open with a loud crash, and there, surrounded by her deathless warriors, was poor little Merlin. His arms were littered in thin cuts like glass had shattered. His clothing was in tatters, torn and ripped by twigs and sword alike. A large cut was bleeding right below one of his temples and bloodstained at least one of his ears. His eyes were glazed and foggy. He was obviously concussed and looked as if death was just a breath away. 

Victory was sweet. First Arthur, the barrier to her throne, and Merlin, the barrier to her success. 

Morgana stood, letting her dazed little Merlin try to understand what was happening. She could see the moment when he realized that the mass of red on the ground was blood and capes. He began to struggle, fruitlessly, against the undead warriors. Morgana could see the exact moment when Merlin saw Excalibur and recognized that there was no Arthur. 

Merlin froze, eyes wide as he trembled. He understood what it could mean. The bloody sword without its owner, the bloody sword in the enemy’s hand.

“Morgana-” Merlin began to plead, but Morgana was quick to cut him off. This was her victory, she would make Merlin suffer for all the pain he had caused her. 

“Arthur Pendragon is dead.”

Morgana watched in awful delight as Merlin choked on his words wincing with her sudden volume.

“Your pathetic King Arthur is gone, Merlin. And you weren’t here to stop me.”


	2. Merlin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Arthur Pendragon is dead."

“Arthur Pendragon is dead.”

Merlin winced as the words bounced around in his skull, and then choked as the words suddenly were understood. The world faded away, all except those four words.

_ Arthur Pendragon is dead. _

“Your pathetic King Arthur is gone, Merlin. And you weren’t here to stop me.” Morgana’s voice taunted loudly, echoing just under the surface of his mind. 

“No.” The magic boiled angrily under his skin, crackling painfully as those words sank in. Winds howled outside, shrieking in its wrath.

**His best friend. His destiny.** Outside thunder cracked furiously, screaming for vengeance.

“NO!”  **There was no reason to hold back, to keep the anger and magic at bay. Arthur was dead.** The castle around him  _ exploded _ .

The stones that made the roof were ripped away with the sudden explosion, along with all the stones that made the higher portions of the walls. Rain and wind tore at the stones, tossing them high into the sky and then back down with the loudest scream of thunder Merlin had ever heard, even louder than Niumeh. 

His blurry vision was sharp with clarity, magic burning brightly, allowing him to ignore the pounding in his own head. There was Morgana, eyes wide with panic, and her six warriors, each holding out their hands as if they were about to cast. 

“Tell me he isn’t dead, Morgana!” Merlin screamed, screamed until he felt his throat raw. The thunder and lightning shook the ground with such power the castle seemed to shift to the left several meters.

“TELL ME!”The winds howled, racing even faster with the unbridled power of Emrys which stabbed like lightning through the air all around him. Rain pelted the ruins with such ferocity that Merlin was almost certain it was balls of ice. 

Morgana’s lips were moving, but Merlin couldn’t hear anything above the wind, and thunder, and rain and that blasted ringing that shot through the air. Her eyes kept flashing gold as she defended herself against the elements, against Emrys.

_ You will be the witch’s doom _ .

Merlin stalked forward, the storm pulsing through and around him, propelling him toward his greatest mistake. 

Morgana trembled, stumbling back to get away from him, eyes wide with panic.

Merlin felt a grim satisfaction. Was that how Arthur had felt before she had killed him? Terrified, but she would not relent? Was this avenging his King? His magic raged within him, telling him  _ Yes, this is what the witch deserves. After all the chances that you have given her, she still killed Arthur. She must pay for her life. Retribution _ .

“Morgana!” His voice was the storm, the thunder, and wind, the rain, and hail, and it boomed all around them. “You have betrayed the king, Once and Future.” Golden magic crackled all around him, bearing witness. “You have betrayed Magic.” Morgana’s mouth began to open as if to defend herself with defensive words or a powerful spell, but magic silenced her with a powerful crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning. “You are guilty of treason.”

The storm was silenced for a moment, a single moment, and Merlin could see the tears and the terror in her eyes that quickly became anger. Merlin whispered, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you, Morgana,” and then lifted Arthur’s Excalibur with a heavy heart. “But I cannot forgive you for killing my King.” The witch fell dead, and Merlin felt tears build at the corners of his eyes.

Startling Merlin out of his thoughts, the sound of boots scuffing stone came forward in six pairs. The warriors.  _ Morgana’s warriors _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da! Next chapter! What do you guys think? It's rather short, but I think it is at least semi-decent. Comment down below on what you think! Thanks for reading! 
> 
> ALSO - I forgot to mention this is inspired by many different Reveal Fics but especially "Morgana's Doom, Camelot's Destiny" by HolyKingWasteLand here on Ao3. This story is similar to it, but I had wanted some different things to happen in the story and I was expecting a plot twist that never came - so, here we are! ('n,n)


	3. Morgana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Startling Merlin out of his thoughts, the sound of boots scuffing stone came forward in six pairs. The warriors. Morgana’s warriors.

The six men all wore commoner’s clothing and looked about ready to kill Merlin for killing their mistress. Merlin stumbled back, the pain catching up to him, making the world spin and sway. “Pl-Please, w-we can f-find a solution. I-I don’t want to fight y-you. We’ve all lost t-too much. Please-” The first man swung his sword at Merlin with a loud roar, sending the warlock tumbling. 

The world was echoing wildly all around him and his anger had all but dissipated. Now all Merlin could feel was panic. The concussion was finally demanding his attention as his emotions no longer forced his magic to take control. Merlin was vulnerable. Woefully so. 

Merlin yelped as he jolted to the side, gripping his arm that was holding Excalibur in a weakened grip. The largest of the six warriors had made a swing at him and nicked his upper arm. 

If he weren’t so emotionally exhausted he might have been able to use magic to protect himself, to win, but Morgana’s wide and hate-filled eyes haunted him, distracted him. Merlin was going to be killed. “Please!” Merlin pleaded again, ducking under another swing and dropping the Excalibur as he went.

Even in the most hopeless-seeming circumstances, Merlin had always prevailed. Destiny was not convinced that Merlin’s role in Albion was over. 

Each warrior was wearing commoners’ clothing, this is true, but what Merlin hadn’t seen when he first saw the warriors were the matching pendants of amber, each tucked under their thin shirts. With the sudden attacks and movement, the pendants swung free. Merlin caught sight of the pendants and knew in an instant that he had to be rid of them, he could sense the dark magic emanating off of them.

Merlin staggered back to his feet, and the world swayed slightly. “I don’t know what enchantment Morgana placed on your pendants, but know that I will not hold this against you.”

Reaching out with shaky tendrils of magic, Merlin tried to grasp the pendants but they slid from his magic’s grip. Grinding his teeth in frustration as his head pounded, Merlin used his magic instead to help keep the pain at bay.

His vision cleared ever so slightly and the pounding in his head simmered down to a dull ache. Now he had to get the magic necklaces off of the six armed warriors. The number six held some significance but he was much too distracted by another stab to dwell on the thought for too long.

First, he would get the necklace from the largest man, then-Merlin ducked under another swing and instead of leaping back he leaped forward, into the warrior. With shaking and desperate hands he yanked the cord of the necklace and it snapped.

The warrior’s form flickered and then the illusion disappeared, leaving a winded Merlin on top of a winded Lancelot.“Merlin?!” Merlin rolled off of Lancelot as another swing forced him to move. Merlin puffed, out of breath. “Got to remove the pendants, Lance! Some kind of control spell mixed with an illusion spell!” Merlin grunted as he ducked again.

This time when he yanked the pendant he was caught unawares by a second warrior, who clipped him on the shoulder. The now freed warrior was Gwaine who yanked Merlin toward him and away from the other warrior’s sword.

“Remove the pendants!” Merlin gasped out as he ducked again. Now with Lancelot and Gwaine assisting him, it was easier not to get caught by a controlled warrior, but they weren’t getting any closer to freeing the last four.

Gwaine, for the most part, stuck to fighting the largest warrior, which Merlin had a sneaking suspicion was Percival. “Merlin!” Gwain called out again, trying to catch the exhausted warlock’s attention. “Mate! Why can’t you just magic up a solution for us?”

Honestly, Merlin was too exhausted to feel shocked, too focused on not dying. “Pendants are enchanted.” Merlin painted, ducking behind Gwaine. “Already tried.” 

Lancelot managed to rip off another pendant. “Leon!” Merlin cried out a warning for the newly freed knight, saving him from being stabbed in the back.

“Good thing Merlin protects us from backstabbers!” Gwaine as he removed another warrior’s pendant, but Merlin felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He always seemed to do it too late. Morgana already killed Arthur.

The sudden realization jolted Merlin and he stumbled to the ground.

Lancelot, Gwaine, Leon, and Elyan fought twice as hard to protect Merlin from the two remaining warriors. 

“Merlin! I swear if you die on us-!”

Only one warrior remained. 

Lancelot, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, and Percival worked to protect Merlin from the final and most ferocious warrior. He was enhanced by Morgana’s pendant and seemed faster and stronger than humanly possible.

Morgana had said Arthur was dead, she had Excalibur. But did she have any proof? Merlin’s mind raced as destiny offered her hand to him, a second chance. There were six of them. The five knights and- “ARTHUR!”

Emrys, Merlin, Magic came alive with hope and the final pendant was shattered with a golden flash. 

There, looking disgruntled and shocked but very much alive, was King Arthur Pendragon. 

Arthur Pendragon was  _ alive _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is the third chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it at least a little! Everything in this story is a little rushed (I wrote it all in one afternoon) but I had to get it out! Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day!


	4. Merlin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur Pendragon was ALIVE.

Magic sang with joy and excitement to see its King, Once and Future. Gold streams of magic shot out with such excitement and intensity that Merlin had to cover his eyes for a moment. When the light faded Merlin felt his jaw drop. 

The throne room was immaculate, perfectly put together, roof and all. Each knight wore sparkling armor and pristine cloaks of gold with the red crest of Pendragon emblazoned on the back.

And Arthur, he finally looked like the Once and Future King of Albion with a glowing golden wreath on top of his head and robes that shined with magical intensity. Arthur Pendragon looked like the Once and Future King of all Albion and all its peoples, magic and non-magic alike.

Gwaine whistled before shooting a grin at Merlin, “You’ve been holding out on us,  _ Emrys _ . First Morgana, then Camelot’s best warriors, and  _ then _ you fixed it all backup!”

Still gaping Merlin felt his headache worsen. He managed to croak out, “Y-You saw me a-and Morgana fight?” Merlin stumbled into Lancelot and felt relieved to see that Lancelot was already prepared to fight for him.

Laughing as he shook his head, Gwaine stared at Merlin disbelievingly. “Mate, a  _ fight _ would be you and a hurricane.  _ That _ was annihilation. I saw you take care of Morgana like Percival would a  _ fly _ .”

Merlin winced sharply. “I hadn’t  _ wanted _ to kill Morgana, Gwaine! She-She had, well I thought she had-” Arthur spoke softly. “You thought she had killed me.” Merlin swallowed thickly before he nodded hesitantly. “My entire life, my magic, was all meant to protect you, Arthur. And-And to think that I had failed because I  _ didn’t _ kill Morgana when I had the chance-that was-I had just, I failed my own destiny. I thought that all my life’s work to keep you safe and to built Albion had gone to waste.”

Lancelot gripped his shoulder tightly. “Merlin, you have done more than just prepare Arthur for his destiny - you’re the reason each of us common-born are even knights, aside from Leon, of course. You have touched more lives, and more destinies than any of the prophecies could even begin to foretell.” Merlin glanced thankfully to his friend, grateful for the confidence that Lancelot spoke with.

“Lancey Lance, are you admitting that you  _ knew _ about Merlin’s magic before this?” Gwaine’s voice sounded smug and Merlin stiffened. “Er-The griffin had to be killed somehow. It was a creature of magic, it had to be killed by magic.” Only Arthur and Leon had an inkling of an idea of what Merlin was talking about, but Percival probably knew how long ago that had been. 

“That’s not important right now, Gwaine.” Arthur snapped, looking every bit as regal as a dragon. “What  _ is _ important is the fact that Camelot was just attacked by Morgana and her undead army and now Camelot looks like it had just been built. What are we going to tell the people?”

Merlin glanced from one knight to another, each of them looked as intent as Arthur sounded about looking for an answer to offer the people. “A-Are we not going to tell them that i-it was m-me? I-It was M-Magic?”

Already shaking his head, Arthur sighed. “Merlin, not everyone in Camelot got to see the confrontation. While we may understand that your intentions are more than noble, I’m not sure that we can just turn over the laws against magic in a single day and have that go over well with the people. I wish it was, but there are enough people that have grown only under Uther’s reign since the Purge. We’ll need to be a little more subtle.”

Percival spoke up, nodding to the pendants. “Tell them the Knights reversed the curse.” Lancelot paused before nodding. “Say that the reversal of the undead army also reversed all the damage Morgana’s magic caused.”

Confusedly, Merlin frowned. “What are you talking about? I didn’t manage to take care of the Cup of Life. I thought I had just postponed the undead army.”

Leon shook his head, smiling slightly. “Merlin, when you unleash your magic you  _ vaporized _ the walking dead. I’m surprised you didn’t notice. They were restraining you and then they were turned to ash.”

Elyan eyed Merlin suspiciously for a moment before he glanced down at what he was wearing. “Sir Leon, I think the plausibility of Merlin disintegrating dead soldiers without him noticing is very high considering all of  _ this _ . And with such fine clothing...” The knight gestured to the room and what they were all now wearing.

“Speaking of which,” Gwaine turned to Merlin, “What in  _ blazes _ are you wearing, Mate?”

Merlin only then realized that he had also been decorated by the magical transformation. A sparkling silver wreath sat on his head with a live blue flame flickering in the center. And his robes looked to be for someone of royalty, finely made and shining. And on his pearl blue robes, a pale white dragon  _ moved _ as if it were watching them intently. 

Merlin shuffled nervously. “Er-I’m not only Emrys-” Gwaine interrupted with a sarcastic, “Of course not,” but Merlin ignored him. “-I’m also the-uh, the last Dragonlord.

"Of course you are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't know if this is the end (honestly and truly) But I'd love to hear what you guys think! This last bit seems REALLY oc but I kind of like it...maybe? I don't know. Hope you guys have a fantabulous day, and as always - Thanks for watching.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the first chapter! The second one is already written and will be up soon (tomorrow hopefully)! The second chapter will be from Merlin's perspective and will be the powerful Merlin that we love to see. Comment down below what you think! Thank's for reading!


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